Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 1.6% – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price was up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.55 and last traded at $16.5350. Approximately 14,764,913 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 14,862,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Energy Transfer to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.75.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.17.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 10.71%. The company had revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.3325 dividend. This represents a $1.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.40%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 104,577,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. This represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 39,845 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.1% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 11,796 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.9% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 32,788 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.2% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 9,195 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 24,056 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.